Special Service and Features
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman reviews saturation of Central Government Flagship Schemes, participates in Credit Outreach Programme in Puducherry
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday chaired a review meeting of the saturation drive of various Central Government’s Flagship Schemes in Puducherry in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Puducherry Shri N. Rangaswamy, Council of Ministers and other senior officials of the government of the Union Territory.
The saturation drive in Puducherry was initiated in February 2023 at the behest of the Union Finance Minister with the assistance and support of the Government of Puducherry, the Department of Financial Services, Banks and other institutions.
The idea was to maximise the reach of the Union Government’s flagship schemes to all the eligible beneficiaries in the Union Territory, in line with the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The parameters for the saturation drive were devised in consultation with different stakeholders including NITI Aayog, the Department of Financial Services , and the Government of Puducherry.
It was highlighted in the meeting that after Smt Sitharaman’s call for better implementation of centrally sponsored and financial inclusion schemes of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi-led Government, Puducherry had made remarkable progress and has risen in the ranks among the Union Territories since the initiation of the saturation drive at the behest of the Union Finance Minister.
Puducherry has outshined the national average in many parameters of flagship schemes per lakh population in the last four months.
Progress made in Flagship Schemes of the Modi Govt in Puducherry due to the Saturation Drive.
- PM SVANidhi Yojana: Puducherry has achieved 98% of the target given by for PM SVANidhi loans to street vendors. There are now 2740 beneficiaries, up 54% from 1776 in February 2023, in Puducherry and it ranks 3rd among the Union Territories.
- PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana : There are now more than 1.40 lakh beneficiaries, up from 1.27 lakh in February. Puducherry ranks 3rd among the UTs based on population ratio and has higher enrolments than the national average.
- PM Suraksha Bima Yojana : Enrolments in Puducherry  is higher than the National Average . There are now 3.36 lakh beneficiaries, which was 2.98 lakh in February.
- PM Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana : The subscriber base under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana has gone up by 40% due to the special drive. There are now 87,000 subscribers, up from 61,983 subscribers in February 2023 of the scheme in Puducherry, making it rank second among the UTs based on population ratio.
- Kisan Credit Card : Puducherry now has more than 17,300 beneficiaries , up by almost 15% in four months from 15,140 beneficiaries. Among the 17,300 KCC beneficiaries, 4,119 are beneficiaries under KCC  and 4036 farmers are beneficiaries under KCC .
- PM Shram Yogi Maandhan : Under this scheme, an assured pension of Rs. 3000 is provided for workers in the unorganized sector. There are now close to 4900 beneficiaries in Puducherry. It has more than doubled, due to the special drive, from February 2023 when the number of beneficiaries was 2336. Puducherry ranks 3rd among the UTs in terms of registered beneficiaries.
- PM Awas Yojana : Puducherry has achieved 104.75% of its target and more than 16,100 houses have been grounded as of 30.06.2023. Construction of 1145 new houses have been completed since February 2023.
- PM MUDRA Yojana : 10.44 lakh MUDRA loan accounts have been issued till date with total loans worth Rs 6,066 crore. Puducherry has 83,713 loan accounts per lakh population which is approximately five times higher than the average among the UTs.
- PM Ujjawala Yojana : Puducherry has achieved 156% of its target of 10,000 and has provided LPG connections to 15,556 beneficiaries as on 30.06.2023.
- PM Jan Dhan Yojana : Puducherry now has more than 1.92 lakh Jan Dhan Account holders. 6624 new Jan Dhan accounts have been opened since the initiation of the saturation drive.
- Atal Pension Yojana : Puducherry stands 1st among all UTs in APY enrolments per lac population and has 78,453 beneficiaries. 4,455 more beneficiaries were added in the saturation drive.
- One Nation One Ration Card: There are 6.34 lakh NFSA beneficiaries in Puducherry, and all of them have Aadhar seeding and are DBT enabled. Puducherry has been ranked as the best among the Union Territories for this.
- PM Karam Yogi Maandhan : Puducherry has registered 196 beneficiaries as on 30.06.2023, which is 15.71 per lakh population. In almost 4 months, Puducherry moved from 5th to 4th among the UTs in terms of registered beneficiaries.
- Stand Up India: Puducherry has sanctioned 33 accounts per lakh population, which is higher than the national average, and Puducherry has moved from being 5th in February to the 4th position among the UTs.
- Under SBM  2.0: All 108 villages have been declared ODF. 70 of the villages have achieved the ODF+ status as of 30.06.2023, up from 67 in February. The target is to make all the villages ODF+ model villages by July 2023.
- Under SBM  2.0: All the municipalities have been certified as ODF and have achieved 100% door-to-door collection and source segregation of waste.
- National Urban Livelihoods Mission : Revolving fund of Rs.10,000 has been provided to more than 1800 SHGs. Under the other components, a 100% target has been achieved for shelter for the urban homeless as of 30.06.2023. Under the Skill Training & Placement  component, also 100% saturation has been achieved up from 54.6% in February 2023.
- National Rural Livelihood Mission  Puducherry ranks overall 2nd among all the North Eastern States and UTs under DAY-NRLM. It also ranks either 1st or 2nd in various indicators such as household mobilization, SHG bank account opening, RF provided to SHGs, VRF provided to PLF and eligible SHGs bank credit linkage status.
- PM Matru Vandana Yojana : Puducherry has covered 33,250 women beneficiaries as on 30.06.2023, up from 28,627 women beneficiaries in 2022. Puducherry district received 3rd position among all districts for its effective implementation of PM-MVY saptah in 2019.
- Smart City Mission: Puducherry has 133 projects worth Rs. 930 crores, out of which Rs. 602 crore  are executed by CPSEs such as RailTel and NBCC. More than 60% of the works will be completed by December 2023 and others by March, 2024.
- AMRUT 1.0: Puducherry has completed 20 out of 23 projects, sanctioned for Rs. 64.10 crore, on time. The balance 3 projects will be completed by September 2023. The projects cover water supply, sewerage and septage management and rejuvenation of water bodies.
- PM Gati Shakti: 27 applicable layers have been mapped and identified 100 new layers pertaining to the state. Mapping on Gati Shakti has been made mandatory for the financial concurrence of infrastructural projects.
Credit Outreach Programme in Puducherry
After the review meeting, Smt Sitharaman also participated in a Credit Outreach Programme at Tagore Arts College, Lawspet , where beneficiaries received sanction letters from various banks under different schemes.
The total amount sanctioned is Rs 2628.38 crore to 1.41 lakh beneficiaries  under MUDRA, Stand-Up, Self-Help Groups , PM SVANidhi, PMEGP , KCC  & Miscellaneous Retail loans etc.
Among the 1.41 lakh loan accounts being sanctioned today, more than 1 lakh loan accounts pertain to Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries.
During the event, Smt Sitharaman sanction letters to various beneficiaries, totalling to Rs 49.58 crore under RIDF, for augmentation of water supply system at Veerampattinam, Ariyankuppam and Thirumalairayanpattinam, supported by NABARD. She also handed over sanction letters to FPOs through NABKISAN, a subsidiary of NABARD, totalling Rs 50 lakh to Karaikal Marutham FPCL, Karaikal and Thirukameswarar Hitech Agro FPCL.
The Finance Minister handed over a cheque of Rs 10.25 lakh to the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Puducherry for five defibrillators sponsored by Indian Bank under its CSR initiative for improving health infrastructure in the Union Territory.
Smt Sitharaman also handed over a Mid-Day Meal Van under the CSR initiative of Indian Bank to Akshaya Patra Foundation.
The credit outreach programme was attended by the Hon’ble Governor of Telangana & Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Dr Tamilsai Soundararajan and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Puducherry Thiru. N Rangaswamy.
Speaker Thiru. R Selvam, Hon’ble MP  Thiru. S Selvaganabathy, Minister of Transport in Puducherry Government Tmt S Chandira Priyanga, Minister of Public Works Thiru K Lakshminarayanan, Minister of Home Thiru A Namassivayam, Minister for Agriculture Thiru C Djeacoumar, MLA Thiru P.M.L Kalyanasundaram and SIDBI MD & CEO Thiru Sivasubramanian Ramann were also present on the occasion.
Also present during the programme were senior officials of the Department of Financial Services , Puducherry Government, banks and other institutions.
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Scheme-wise details of beneficiaries
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Scheme
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No. of A/C
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Amt sanctioned 
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RETAIL
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14,437
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652.14
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MUDRA
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7,087
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51.75
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STAND-UP INDIA
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72
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10.31
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PMSVANIDHI
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662
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1.64
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PMEGP
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31
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1.54
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Other MSME loans
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7,327
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248.7
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KCC 
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406
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9.72
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KCC 
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2118
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12.82
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KCC 
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3198
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15.32
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SHG
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733
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31.6
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Other Agri loans
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97,995
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1334.79
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Other Loans
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7,772
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258.05
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TOTAL
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1,41,834
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2,628.38